Highway safety chief has history of accidents, speeding violations

Sheila Burgess to be reassigned to different position

The Massachusetts Highway Safety Division director has lost her job after a newspaper reported that her driving record included seven accidents, four speeding violations and one failure to wear a seat belt.

The Boston Globe reported that Sheila Burgess has 34 entries on her driving record since 1982.

Burgess has been on leave since she suffered a head injury in a one-car crash in Milton in August. She told police she swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and wasn't cited.

Burgess declined to answer detailed questions about the accident and her $87,000-a-year job.

Officials in Gov. Deval Patrick's administration said Burgess was hired partly based on the recommendation of Congressman James McGovern, but could not address why she was given the highway safety job with the driving record she has.

NewsCenter’s Kimberly Bookman Patrick on Sunday what he thought about the new revelations regarding Burgess.

“They are new to me and I'm going to get to the bottom of it,” Patrick said. “I am not happy."

State public safety secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan said in a statement Sunday that Burgess will no longer have any role in highway safety and will be reassigned to a different position when she returns from medical leave.

“Given her driving record, it is clear that Ms. Burgess should not have been hired as the director of Highway Safety in 2007. While she has performed her duties properly and with professionalism, has not had any citations or at-fault accidents since she was hired and has otherwise been a solid and dependable employee, Ms. Burgess cannot expect the public’s trust, nor mine, as the directory of Highway Safety going forward,” the statement read.